NASHUA – As a murderer begged forgiveness, the victim’s son walked from the courtroom Thursday.

Returning only after the killer stopped speaking, the son said he could never forgive the man who robbed him of his mother.

The exchange happened Thursday in Hillsborough County Superior Court. Nicholas Heinemann is asking to be released two years shy of the 27-year minimum sentence on a second-degree murder conviction.

Heinemann, 39, slouched and wept as he apologized to the son and daughter of Judith Ann Frazier for taking from them “the most precious person” in their life.

Heinemann said he was “speaking from my heart” when he apologized for killing his neighbor in 1987 when he was 15 years old.

But his apology to the family fell on deaf ears.

John Frazier Jr., was 14 when Heinemann murdered his mother nearly 25 years ago. Returning to the courtroom, Frazier, 38, stood straight and kept his composure while telling Judge Jacalyn Colburn that he could not forgive Heinemann. He asked the judge to deny Heinemann’s request for early release.

Frazier, a Nashua firefighter, wore a T-shirt that read “A son never forgets” when he addressed the court.

“By being here, I honor my mother, Judith Ann Frazier,” John Frazier said.

His sister, Tracy Frazier, didn’t attend the court hearing.

Colburn didn’t immediately rule on the request, saying she would issue a written decision after reviewing testimony.

Heinemann was 15 on Aug. 27, 1987, when he repeatedly stabbed and strangled Judith Frazier in a Railroad Square apartment. Heinemann was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. He’s asking the court to suspend the remaining two years of his minimum sentence and release him now from New Hampshire State Prison.

Heinemann’s attorney, Joseph Tessier, agreed that the murder was “horrific, heinous and unconscionable,” but he also described his client as “remorseful, rehabilitated and mature.”

Heinemann was forced to grow up in prison, and over the years, he came to accept responsibility for his crime, Tessier said. He’s not the same man now as the troubled teenager he was in 1987, Tessier said.

He completed numerous programs, becoming a mentor who helps inmates find alternatives to violence, Tessier said. Several prison volunteers, including a man who leads a Native American healing circle at prison, appeared in court on Heinemann’s behalf.

Also in court was a man described as a brother who hadn’t seen Heinemann in decades, barred from visiting prison because of an incarceration in his past. Heinemann’s father wanted to attend but was too ill and emotionally distraught to do so, Tessier said.

Assistant Attorney General James Vara described how Heinemann repeatedly stabbed and strangled Frazier until she was dead. Heinemann forced his way into his neighbor’s apartment to rob her, Vara said.

Heinemann hasn’t been the model prisoner he makes himself out to be, committing numerous infractions, including assaulting other prisoners during his time behind bars, Vara said.

Also, in past attempts at early release, Heinemann maintained his innocence, suggesting that the victim’s ex-husband had killed her, Vara said.

Judith Frazier was 44 when Heinemann took her life, Vara said. Heinemann will be 41 if he’s paroled in two years after serving his minimum sentence, Vara said.

Both Heinemann and John Frazier lived troubled young lives.

In court papers, Tessier described Heinemann’s childhood as plagued by emotional issues, abuse and a disrupted home environment. Heinemann’s teen years weren’t much better. He fell from a bridge at age 13 and suffered a traumatic head injury, Tessier said.

Speaking to the court, Frazier said he also had a rough childhood. He was physically abused by his father, and his mother protected him, Frazier said.

“Unlike some mothers, she wouldn’t stand for it and decided to divorce him,” Frazier said.

Judith Frazier was troubled with alcoholism and depression, her son said. Because of those problems, both he and his sister were placed in foster care. John Frazier said he kept running away from foster homes to see his mother, and at one point lived in seven foster homes in as many years.

But through it all, “I loved my mother more than anybody in the whole world,” Frazier said.

Frazier described in detail how foster parents broke the news of his mother’s death while he was at a summer camp at Hampton Beach.

For years, he felt responsible because he wasn’t there to protect her, Frazier said.

Frazier said he and Heinemann grew up in the same place. Both were beaten up by other kids, and at one point Frazier said he stuck up for Heinemann when he was being picked on.

Despite similar backgrounds, the two men couldn’t have turned out more differently, Frazier said.

Heinemann is serving a long prison sentence. Frazier has served the city of Nashua for 13 years as a firefighter. He also volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua and has spoken at the Adult Learning Center.

“Judith Frazier is the reason I am who I am today,” Frazier said.

In asking for early release, Heinemann said he wanted to be reunited with his family, including his ailing father.

John Frazier said Heinemann’s “torture” and “desecration” of his mother prevented him from having the chance to even see her body one final time to say goodbye.

As for Heinemann’s request to be reunited with his family, Frazier said he hopes it’s “a cold day in hell before that happens.”

For years, Frazier said he wanted to hear from Heinemann why he had killed his mother. He no longer wonders, because he now realizes anything Heinemann told him would just be a lie, Frazier said.

Patrick Meighan can be reached at 594-6518 or pmeighan@nashuatelegraph.com.